The present invention refers to the locking system for a pistol firing pin and, more particularly, to a locking system for a pistol firing pin intimately integrated to the firing mechanism of a semi-automatic pistol.
The present invention was elaborated based on the pistol which is the central object of the Brazilian Patent No. PI 8805801, granted on May 25, 1993 to the present applicant.
More specifically, the invention herein described includes a system in which the firing pin lock is disabled only at the instant immediately preceding release of the firing pin by the catch, both operations being carried out by the movement of the trigger arm.
In the present state of art, there are several references to firing pin locking systems that were developed to make percussion impossible and to thus hinder firing of the pistol, except by the conscious and deliberate act of pressing the trigger.
Such systems exist so that pistols, for example, the Colt 1911, cannot fire accidentally as a result of enabling of the firing pin in case of dropping the pistol with barrel tip or hammer touching the ground, by the firing pin's own inertia, or by breakage of the catch and the consequent striking of hammer.
The firing pin locking systems presently used have in common the fact that they are the result of modifications of the standard firing mechanism by the addition of several parts, as occurs for example in the Beretta, Taurus and other pistols. In this way, in the above-mentioned systems, the movement of some components of the firing mechanism, such as the catch, the hammer and other parts, cause the action of more intermediate parts aiming at an action in the firing pin locking mechanism which commonly moves perpendicularly to the main axis of same mechanism.
Such type of movement has its mechanical efficiency impaired not only by the friction developed by the translation motion of the lock, but also and mainly for the interference of the inclined surfaces of the parts involved. This is the case of the Taurus pistol model PT-92. All this results in the above-mentioned locking systems negatively affecting the trigger touch by making it heavy and irregular, thus impairing firing precision either in target shooting or in defense shooting.
The reasons given above led to the development and the invention of the present firing pin locking system, which goes well beyond the pure application to the pistol object of said Brazilian Patent No. PI 8805801. It is, therefore, desirable to provide a firing pin locking system that is characterized by:
a) its intimate integration into the firing mechanism of the pistol, implying minimum modification of the original design; PA1 b) the addition of practically one single part to the traditional firing mechanism; PA1 c) movements such as the tilting of the lock which do not cause parasite translation friction, being only rotational movements of the lock, and have a maximum mechanical efficiency; and PA1 d) warranting the maximum safety of the lock without impairing the trigger touch.